Connect With Us

WNC RIBN Option

WNC Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) Program will dually admit and
enroll you at Western Carolina University and an area community college. Currently
the WCU School of Nursing has a RIBN partnership with Asheville-Buncombe Technical,
Blue Ridge and Southwestern community colleges. The RIBN Program provides you with
a four year, seamless associate to baccalaureate nursing education. Unlike in a traditional
BSN program, you will have the opportunity to begin working as an RN at the start
of your fourth year.

about the RIBN program

The RIBN Option makes a bachelor’s degree in nursing both affordable and accessible.
The first three years will be hosted on the community college's campus, with one class
each semester taken online through WCU.Students in the RIBN Option pay mostly community college tuition rates for the first
three years of your baccalaureate nursing education. Upon successful completion of the first three years, you will then finish your fourth
year of classes through WCU Programs at Biltmore Park.

Admissions Requirements

Students applying to the WNC RIBN for Fall 2018 must meet admission requirements of
both the community college and Western Carolina University.

Admission is based on the following criteria:1. General acceptance to WCU and partnering community college.

a. To be eligible to apply to WNC directly from high school, or before completion of at least 20 hours of college credit, a student must have an
unweighted cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in
high school courses .b. To be eligible to apply for admission to WNC RIBN after completion of at least 20
hours of college credit (100 level or higher), a student must have a cumulative GPA
of 3.0 or higher. The 20 hours will not include any developmental courses (below 100
levels).

2. ACT Composite Score or the SAT Critical Reading exam. Applicants can submit either
exam, keeping the following in mind:

a. No minimum ACT Composite Score. b. 500 minimum on the previous SAT version or a 27 on the current SAT version c. Beginning with the Fall 2019 application cycle, only the ACT Composite Score will
be accepted. The SAT Critical Reading score will no longer be accepted.